Wednesday, February 29, 2012

One of this years most anticipated films is preparing to be released for a first time ever public screening at the LES Film Festival in New York on March 15th, 2012!!! Tickets are on sale NOW.... simply go to http://lesfilmfestival.com/tix2

We at RBB highly recommend that all of our NYC fans take this amazing opportunity to see the best film to hit the root beer world since .........."A Christmas Wish" which was originally titled "A Root Beer Christmas".... We are glad to see that "I am Root Beer" has held true to their brew loving roots!!!!!

I Am Root BeerWhen a gifted surgeon gets a chance to audition for a regional root beer commercial, he sees this as his chance to spread the love his favorite beverage has given him. The only things standing in his way are his boss, his loved ones a casting director and cold, hard reality. Cast: Casey Donahue, Seth Herzog, and Jon Gabrus. Dir. Casey Donahue & Matthew Ballen. (15 mins)

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

I'm back on the east coast to start this wacky journey of ours and periodically finagle a root beer review. Because of that, these may prove to be rapid fire reviews. Don't expect too much wit and humor. Maybe you didn't think I had much. . . in which case I shouldn't disappoint too badly.

In hindsight it was an auspicious beginning. Not a bad beginning, but then again nothing to blog about either. At least that is what I kept telling Adam. Seriously any more than one root beer a day is asking for a world of hurt in terms of taste evaluation from me. Since you are reading this, he did not heed my sage advice and the "experience" was enough for a late night recap.

Well let us start with my favorite part, the bottle. It's back to the brown glass that I am partial to, and it even has it's name embossed on it.

That is all for the positive. Really it is.

Actually the rest is not negative, and that is the problem for me. Stewart's is pretty unremarkable. It is not creamy, not sweet, not aromatic, and not bold. I would have preferred if they had been adventurous and failed. At least I would not have felt like I wasted my time. After the 3rd and 4th swig, I was not amused by the lack of flavor.

Stewart's is like the middle child in the family, just kind of there. Not the responsible one, the smart one, the athletic one, and not the popular one. The one everyone asks who that is in the Christmas picture sent out to relatives during the holiday.

And so for taking precious time out of our coast to coast jaunt across America and not adding any value to it, Stewart receives 2 frosty mugs

-ray

Ray may have a point.... this was a stop that happened for nostalgia's sake only. It is not common to find these old Stewart's Roadside Root Beer Stands still in operation. In fact maybe only a couple dozen exist in modern day. But if we go back to the hay-day of root beer, these road side stands along with many other branded brews with their own operation of similar sort, were dotted along most major roads in the country. The fact of the matter is that those roadside stands made sense back then. That was before the time when we would buy a case (suite case) of soda and throw it in our fridge for a staple of hydration. Back in the old days soda was a treat and root beer was sweetest treat of all. Once a week would be considered too often by most parents of those days. In modern day, parents try to limit their kids to no more than 2 cans a day!!!

So it goes without saying that this old Stewart's Roadside Stand is also quickly falling out of relevancy. Sofia, the very nice owner/operator is making a very good go at it, all the same. The menu has expanded from the typical "dogs & burgers" which is most common with these stands. She offers a very wide variety of sandwiches which more align with local flavor. She was almost gitty, like my young daughters, when I explained who we were and what we were doing. Honestly that made the rather long side track well worth it. So after many months of being over due, I want to personally say "Thank you, Sophia, for keeping the Root Beer Dream ALIVE!!!"

So as Ray and I slowly muddle over our notes and failing memories as we begin to finally post our reviews from our September 2011 Rootbeer Road Trip.... I promise that our other stops were as tasty as this stop was nostalgic!!!! No offense intended, Sophia!!! Stewart's has much going for it...... but its more history and nostalgia....... than....... taste..... Stewart's was one of my first reviews back in 2007..... long before my experience was better grounded in much better brew..... so with that in mind it would not be good for me to re-review this old friend Stewart's.... after all, History does go a long way...... at least with me...... back then I gave it a half a frosty mug over the Rootbeer Standard.... because it was in glass....... so it shall remain.... 3.5 frosty Mugscheck out my review from 07' http://www.rootbeerbrothers.com/2007/03/stewarts-fountain-classic-root-beer.html

On to the BIG OOOOOOOOO-HI-OOOOOOOOOOOO .... but not before we stopped for roast pork subs at Tony Luke's!!!!! www.tonylukes.com

Following on the heels of Marc's recent review of Old Town Root Beer, I give you Olde Brooklyn. Given root beer's storied past and sentimental goodness, it isn't surprising that a lot of companies go for "old" in their branding (see Olde Heritage and Olde Philadelphia brews, previously reviewed on this site). In fact, the word "old" isn't even enough, we need to add an "e" on the end, as in olde, indicating a root beer so traditional, so established, so illustrious, that the even the spelling hasn't changed in hundreds of years.

In Olde Brooklyn's case, it is made by White Rock, established 1871, and "one of America's oldest beverage companies." While the Olde Brooklyn imprint hasn't been around that long, White Rock is certainly no fly-by-night beverage manufacturer. They also make the Sioux City line of soda pops, including, of course, Sioux City Root Beer. Still, root beer is just one note in their portfolio, which includes seltzers, mixers, drink boxes, a rainbow of soft drink flavors, and even organic sodas. That's not a bad thing, but don't be fooled: this is no small batch, hand-crafted brew.

The Olde Brooklyn line is touted on the White Rock website as having "more flavoring and less carbonation" (more and less than what it doesn't say), and that this somehow captures the "flavor and nostalgia" of the famous Brooklyn neighborhoods. Whatever you say, marketing guys.

All knee-jerk snarking against advertising mumbo jumbo aside, Olde Brooklyn is a decent root beer that I would gladly sample again. It is cane-sweetened and lives up to its low carbonation billing. It is creamy and carmely (carmelish?) with vague hints of anise and/or vanilla (it contains both natural and artificial flavors).

At the end of the day it is nothing spectacular. But it is eminently smooth, so smooth in fact, due to that lack of carbonation, that if I closed my eyes I was just a step away from drinking some kind of root beer milk. Memorable? Not terribly. Delicious? Yes.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Vance Gilbert the folk singer, Paul Stanley the lead in the rock band KISS, and the Rootbeer Brothers all have something in common...... Root Beer Breakfast!!!!! Yes, I have written about this before and for some reason I am compelled to do so once again. Check out my original post http://www.rootbeerbrothers.com/2008/10/root-beer-for-breakfast.html

So I know what your thinking, where does the "Star Child" fit in to all of this....well he have to go back..... way back to a "documentary" that Kiss put out in the early 1990's called Kiss:Exposed. I should state ahead of time that I am in no way promoting or encouraging any one to watch the so called documentary.... it is very derogatory and disrespectful toward women and not worth your time and besides you will actually learn nothing of value about the band. Well..... except for the one fact I intend to share here. In the early part of the film Paul Stanley discusses his morning routine which begins with a bowl of granola and root beer. In the film he literally filled a bowl of granola with a store brand root beer and chowed down, spoonful after spoonful, as he gave a tour of the Kiss Mansion. So between that and what could easily be the RBB anthem, Vance Gilbert's "Root Beer for Breakfast," I believe that we have some momentum going here.... maybe one day McDonald's will serve granola root beer bowls to go :) I guess you can always dream!!!

So I finally decided after 20 years to finally try out the breakfast of Paul Stanley..... Granola and Root Beer... I chose the standard... just for good measure..... and you know what, I LIKED it.... in fact if it had a fan page on facebook.... I would actually "Like" it and be proud that it was posted on my profile for all the world to see!!! I dare all of our fans to take the plunge.... forget the polar bear dunk in an icy cold river...... warm up to the Breakfast of Rock Stars and Rootbeer Brothers..... grab a bowl of Granola and Root Beer!!!! Be sure to download Vance Gilbert's "Root Beer for Breakfast" from amazon and play it in the background to make your morning complete!!!

A Love of Root Beer

Follow along as the Rootbeer Brothers conduct Root Beer Reviews from around the country and add plenty of commentary concerning the "World of Root Beer" so sit back, grab a frosty mug and pour yourself some of the smoothest blog on the net.

Since Charles Hires first started selling his bottled carbonated root beer back in 1876, life in America has tasted so much smoother. In appreciation of one of America's very own beverages, we intend to explore the tastes, history and culture of root beer. From the frosty mug to the dark long-necked bottle may you enjoy this most tasteful journey of dark brewed indulgence.

Jeff, Adam, Mike, Ray, Marc & Joe are by no means experts in the subject but rather full-fledged enthusiasts who have enjoyed passing bottles of root beer back and forth from all parts of the country. Although not biological siblings, the Rootbeer Brothers are bound by an equal love of this most inviting American soft drink. So pop a top and sip some of the most freshly brewed blog on the web.

Thank you for visiting and feel free to leave any suggestions, comments, or critiques of your own.